Civil Society Groups to Support Soludo Administration’s Efforts to Strengthen Primary Healthcare Centers in Anambra

By Praise Chinecherem

Civil Societies for Malaria Control, Immunization and Nutrition (ACOMIN) and Community-based Organizations (CBOs) have expressed their preparedness to support efforts of Anambra State government to strengthen Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in the state.

State Coordinator, ACOMIN, Chioma Okeke who stated this on Tuesday in a press briefing, said the decision followed negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic with attendant disruption to health services across the state.

Okeke, represented by her deputy, John Ibekwe, identified three major health priorities of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM) as main areas of concern as well as increasing reported cases of gender-based and domestic violence.

She urged various communities to take ownership of the PHCs for improved service delivery, just as she called on government and relevant stakeholders to support the CBOs in implementing the project towards improving health outcomes.

The State Program Officer, Mr Wisdom Jacob said the project would contribute to making foundational changes by strengthening health systems in the state through targeted interventions that support federal and state government policies, as well as strategies to drive sustainable improvement to maximize impact of ATM and other diseases.

He said, “The COVID-19 (Response Mechanism/Resilience Sustainable System of Health (RM/RSSH) project is a grant funded by the Global Fund through the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA). 

“It is geared toward 4 priority interventions; Gender-based violence prevention and post-violence care, Respond to human rights and gender-related barriers to services, Community Led Monitoring and advocacy, and Social mobilization. 

“The C19RM/RSSH grant will be implemented between the period of 2022 – 2023 in Anambra State by three networks comprising HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM) through 15 selected CBOs (five per network) coordinated by ACOMIN.”

State Coordinator, TB Network, Ifeyinwa Unachukwu said the project is to be piloted in selected five local government areas of the state, namely Awka South, Aguata, Anambra East, Dunukofia and Nnewi South. 

“Gaps that are identified through the monitoring activities will be noted and prioritized; remediation will be sought through advocacy to decision-makers at the national, state, local and community levels. 

“This will lead to more effective service delivery, improved accessibility, affordability and investments by communities and governments at local and state levels for health, particularly for COVID-19,” she added.

Technical Specialist, RSSH, Ministry of Health, Chizoba Mbanefo assured the Ministry’s support, particularly in areas of regulation, publicity and other technicalities.

“As the custodian of health programmes and regulatory body of the health sector in the state, the ministry will assist regulate the project activities, as well as provide them with technical, political and other necessary supports,” she said.